Strip lifting device for pickling tanks



April 22, 1952 D. A. M ARTHUR STRIP LIFTING DEVICE FOR PICKLING TANKS Filed Sept. 10, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ona/dA/wcflrfhur wdm E a m lf April 22, 1952 D, MOARTHUR 2,594,192

STRIP LIFTING DEVICE FOR PICKLING TANKS Filed Sept. 10, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2.

INVENTOR April 22, 1952 MCARTHUR 2,594,192

STRIP LIFTING DEVICE FOR PICKLING TANKS Filed Sept. 10, 1948 s Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 22, 1952 STRIP LIFTING DEVICE FOR PICKLING TANKS Donald A. McArthur, Warren, Ohio, assignor to The Wean Engineering (30.,

1110., Warren,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September 10, 1948, Serial No. 48,706

This invention relates to a strip lifting device, particularly a device for lifting strip out of a treating liquid when it is desired to discontinue treating the strip. l

While the invention is applicable broadly to the lifting of strip in relation to treating means for the strip I have embodied it specifically in apparatus for lifting strip out of a pickling tank in a continuous pickler so for purposes of explanation and illustration I shall describe the invention as embodied in a strip lifting device for a continuous pickler.

In a continuous pickler the strip is drawn continuously through pickling acid maintained in a tank. When it is desired to stop for a substantial period of time the movement of the strip through the pickler while a portion of the 'strip is disposed in the pickler it is necessary to lift the strip up out of the pickling acid as otherwise the acid will progressively dissolve the metal of the strip. Heretofore when operation of a continuous pickler has been discontinued the practice has been to insert a heavy wooden lever into the pickling tank through a hole in the cover and pry the strip up out of the acid. The strip has been held in an elevated position above the surface of the acid by the wooden lever, the outer end of which has been held down by a chain fastened to the floor or some such crude device. In long tanks a plurality of such levers disposed at intervals along the strip have been employed. The procedure was at best laborious and inefiicient and suited only to relatively shallow tanks.

I have devised a strip lifting device which does not require prying the strip up out of the acid or other treating substance in the manner above described and which may be conveniently operated through suitable control mechanism adjacent the tank. My mechanism requires only that one or two relatively small holes be made in the top of the tank through which a lifting element or lifting elements may pass and is applicable equally to shallow tanks and deep tanks.

4 Claims. (Cl. 134-122) carrying the strip upwardly with it. The strip supporting portion of the lifting element upon which the strip is supported is, of course, desirably raised to a position above the level of the treating liquid so that the strip is suspended above the liquid. When the lifting element is not in use it is raised to its uppermost position with the strip supporting portion adjacent the top of the tank and above thelevl of the treating liquid. The strip supporting portion may be of any suitable material, as, for example, stainless steel, that metal being especially appropriate when the strip lifting device is used in connection with a picklingtank.

It is important that when the'lifting element is not in use it be disposed in position above and out of the treating liquid, especially when the treating liquid is pickling acid, because the pickling acid would rapidly deteriorate any portion of the lifting element which would remain immersed in it for a substantialperiod of time. The lifting element will deteriorate .very much less rapidly when it is disposed adjacent the top of the tank and above the level of. the treating liquid when it is not in use.

The lifting element may take various forms, one form of lifting element which I have found quite satisfactory being a round stainless steel rod bent into L. shape with a relatively long and a relatively short leg, the long leg extending generally vertically and the short leg extending generally horizontally. The long leg of the lifting element passes through a hole in the top of I provide a strip lifting device comprising mounting means, a lifting element carried by the mounting means, means for lowering and rais- 1 the tank, which hole may be provided with a packing gland to seal the tank about the lifting element. The shortleg is disposed within the tank. When the lifting element is in inoperative position the short leg is-disposed above the level of the treating liquid and adjacent the top of the tank but within the tank.

When the lifting element is to be used for lift ing strip abovethe surface of the treating liquid it islowered through the liquid, being oriented at the time of lowering so that the horizontal leg extends generally parallel'to the length of the strip. The lifting element is positioned laterally of the strip so that it may be lowered in the tank without interference with the strip when the horizontal leg of the lifting element is disposed generally parallel to the length of the strip. When the lifting element has reached its lowermost position the strip a supporting portion is shifted to strip supporting position. When the lifting element is in the form-ofan L-shaped rod as. above mentioned the horizontal leg of the rod is the strip supporting portion of the lifting element and the lifting element is shifted into strip supporting position by turning the lifting element to swing the horizontal leg from a position in which it is oriented generally parallel to the length of the strip to a position in which it is disposed transversely or crosswise of the strip and below the strip. This involves turning of the lifting element through about 90 about the axis of its vertical leg. After the lifting element has been thus shifted into strip supporting position, it is raised to lift the strip up out of the treating liquid and suspend it adjacent the top of the tank but Within the tank until the strip treating operation is to be resumed.

When the strip treating operation is to .be resumed the lifting element is lowered to allow the strip to again become immersed in the treating liquid. When the lifting element is in its lowermost position it is shifted out of strip supporting position, this being accomplished when the lifting element is in the form of .an L-shaped rod as above described by turning the rod through an angle of about 90 about the axis of its vertical'leg to swing the horizontal strip supportingleg of the rod from its strip supporting position transversely of the strip to its inoperative position generally parallel to the strip. When the lifting element has been thus moved to in.- operative'position it is raised so that the strip supporting portion is disposed above the level of the treating liquid and adjacent the top of the tank- The lifting element may be duplicated if desired, that being indicated when the lifting device is used in connection with awide tank. A wide tank may be used for the treatment of one strip at. a time or for the treatment of a plurality of strips at a time. In either case the opposed lifting elements are preferably disposed outside the outside strip edges. When the'lifting elements. are shifted into strip supporting position the. strip supporting portions thereof extend generally toward each other. Lifting elements may be disposed between strips which pass through the tank in side-by-side relationship.

The lifting element or elements may be operatedby any suitable mechanism. When opposed lifting elements are employed they may be mounted in a common support or crosshead which may be raised and lowered by suitable means. The lifting elements when of the L shapedconformation above referred to may be turnably mounted in the crosshead. Means may be provided whereby the opposed lifting elements may be simultaneously shifted between operative and inoperative positions.

I find it desirable to operate the lifting element or lifting elements by fluid under pressure operating a generally movable piston or pistons. To this end I may provide a generally vertically arranged cylinder, a piston operable in the cylinder and a piston rod connected with the piston and extending outof the lower end of the cylinder for carrying the lifting element, the lifting element beingshiftable into strip supporting position when the lifting element is in lowered position. The piston is operated by suitable means, such, for example, as compressed air or compressed hydraulic fluid such as oil. When opposed lifting elements are employed I desirably provideasupport, a generally vertically arranged cylinder carried by the support andprojecting upwardly-therefrom,,a piston operable in .the

cylinder, a piston rod connected withthepiston 4 V and extending out of the lower end of the cylinder and to a point below the support, a crosshead carried by the piston rod, a pair of lifting elements carried by the crosshead and projecting downwardly therefrom, the lifting elements being shiftable into strip supporting position when they are in lowered position, and means for moving the piston in the cylinder. 7

I also provide, in strip treating apparatus, a

tank for containing strip treating liquid through which strip is adapted to be drawn, a lifting element having a strip supporting portion, means for lowering and raising the lifting element between a position in which the strip supporting portion is disposed above the liquid level in the tank and a position in which the strip supporting portion is disposed below the liquid level and near the bottom of the tank and means for shiftthe' lifting element to bring the strip supporting portion into strip supporting position when the lifting element is in lowered position.

Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as'the following description of a present preferred embodiment thereof proceeds. V

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a present preferred embodiment of the invention in which 7 Figure l is a plan view with portions cut away showing diagrammatically a continuous pickler employing a plurality of my strip lifting devices;

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse cross-sectional View to enlarged scale taken on the line 11-11 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a plan View of the structure shown in'Figure 2';

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Figure 2 but with the nearer tank wall removed; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary detail view showing a device for maintaining the-lifting elements in raised position.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown an elongated pickling tank designated generally by reference numeral 2 and having bottom 3, vertical side walls 4 and a top. or cover 5. The tank 2 may be of any desired length and may be filled with pickling acid 6. Strip 1 is adapted to be drawn through thetank 2-to becontinuously pickled therein. Figure 2 shows a pair of strips 1 disposed in sideby-side relation in the tank. One, two or more strips may be drawn through the tank at a time.

Mounted atop the elongated tank 2 at suitable intervals therealong are strip lifting devices designated generally by reference numeral 8 and shown diagrammatically in Figure 1. Any appropriate number of such devices may be used on a single tank, the devices being spaced apart at appropriate intervals. Their spacing should be such that when all of the devices have lifted the strip up to a position above the liquid level in the tank no portion of the strip in between lifting devices will loop down into the liquid or pickling acid. A description of one of the lifting devices will suffice for all since all of the lifting devices may be of the same construction. While in the drawings each lifting device is shown as having its own operating mechanism the operating mechanisms for all the lifting devices on the same tank may be connected together so that all may be operated simultaneously from a cen ral control station.

I shall now describe onset the lifting devices; Mounted atop the tank 2 is a support'designated generally by reference numeral 9 and comprising opposed vertical legs i0 connected at the bottom by cross members I I with diagonal supporting and stiffening members 12 extending between the members it) and II. At their upper ends the members [0 are connected by a cross member l3 which carries at its center a vertically oriented cylinder [4. The bottom of the cylinder 14 is slightly below the member 13 and the top of the cylinder is disposed substantially above the member [3. A piston is disposed within the cylinder M for operation therein generally vertically. Connected with the piston is a piston rod 15 which extends out of the bottom of the cylinder I3 through the lower cylinder head I 6 provided with a suitable packing gland. The piston rod l5 has at its lower end an enlarged portion H which is connected at it with a crosshead l9 movable vertically relatively to the support 9 and guided by the members l0. Pipes for admitting fluid under pressure adjacent the top and the bottom of the cylinder M respectively are shown at and 2|. These pipes lead to a 4-way control valve 22 having an operating handle 23. A source of fluid under pressure is connected with the control valve 22 at 24, the valve being a typical 4- way type enabling connection of the source of fluid under pressure selectively with the pipes 20 and 2|. The one of the pipes 20 and 2| which at any time is not connected with the source of fluid under pressure may beconnected to exhaust or to a fluid reservoir. Since no novelty is claimed in the control valve and since it is" of standard construction its details are not shown.

Mounted in the crosshead [9 are opposed lifting elements 25. Each of the lifting elements 25 consists of an L-shaped stainless steel round rod having a relatively long generally vertically oriented leg 26 and a relatively short generally horizontally oriented leg 21. The leg 26 or each lifting element 25 passes through an opening suitably provided in the top 5 of the tank v2. The lifting elements are adapted for both vertical movement and turning movement relatively to the tank top, the holes through which they pass preferably being sealed by suitable glands.

Each lifting element 25 is mounted in the crosshead I9 for turning movement about the axis of its leg 26. Keyed to each lifting element 25 at its upper end above the crosshead i9 is an arm 28. The arms 28 are shown in the drawings as being curved for convenience in the particular structure shown although they may be of any appropriate shape. An operating member 29 is pivotally connected with the arms 28 at 30 and has a handle 3! through which it is adapted to be moved generally transversely of the tank. Since the arms 28 are keyed to the respective lifting elements 25 and since the member 29 is pivoted to the respective arms, movement of the member 29 generally transversely of the tank will cause turning of both lifting elements in the same direction through the same angle at the same time. Thus an operator may through the member 29 turn both lifting elements 25 simultaneously through approximately 90 to shift the lifting elements between strip supporting position and inoperative position.

The device shown. in detail in Figure 5 is provided for maintaining the lifting elements in raised position. There is provided a slide 32 having a handle 33 mounted for limited movement transversely of the tank. The crosshead 19 has end plates 34. The member 32 is notched at so that when it is in one position the end plates Ill 34 of the crosshead I9 may pass through the notches 35 but when it is in its other position asindicated in chain lines in Figure 5 unnotched portions of the member 32 lie below the end plates 34, thus preventing downward movement of the crosshead. When the strip lifting device is in raised position, i. e., when it is eitherin inoperative position or in position holding a strip up out of the pickling acid, the member 32 may be rendered operative to hold the device up in that position so that the fluid under pressure need not be relied upon to maintain the lifting device continuously in raised position. The member 32 hence is not essential but serves as a safety r device to hold the lifting device up in case of failure of the fluid compressing means.

Except when they are operative to support a strip or strips the horizontal legs 2'! of the lifting elements 25 are disposed parallel to thestrips I. When the strip lifting device is to be employed for lifting the strips out of the picklin acid fluid under pressure is admitted above the piston in the cylinder l4 and exhausted below the piston (the safety device 32 then being in its inoperative or full line position as shown in Figure 5) and the crosshead i9 is lowered to move the lifting elements 25 from their upper positionsto their lower positions as indicated in Figures 2 and 4. When the lifting elements have reached their lower positions with their horizontal strip supporting legs 21 at an elevation below the strip the member 29 is operated to turn the lifting elements so that the legs 21 extend transversely of the tank and toward each other and thus un derlie the strips 1. Thereupon fluid is admitted below the piston and exhausted above the piston in the cylinder l4 and the crosshead is raised to its uppermost position. Since the lifting elements 25 are carried by the crosshead they are likewise raised and the legs 21 of the lifting elements carry the strips up to a position above the surface of the pickling acid where the strips are maintained until it is desired to resume operation of the continuous pickler.

When it is desired to resume operation of the continuous pickler the crosshead I9 is again lowered to its lowermost position, the lifting elements 25 are turned to swing the horizontal legs 2? thereof to positions in which they are parallel with the strips and the crosshead I9 is raised to dispose the lifting elements in inoperative position adjacent the top of the tank as shown in full lines in Figures 2 and 4.

While I have shown and described a present preferred embodiment of the invention it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In strip treating apparatus, a tank for contaming strip treating liquid through which strip is adapted to be drawn, the tank having a cover over the top thereof, a lifting element extending generally vertically through the tank cover and having a strip supporting portion thereon within the tank, means disposed outside the tank for lowering and raising the lifting element between a position in which the strip supporting portion is disposed above the liquid level in the tank and a position in which the strip supporting portion is disposed below the liquid level and near the supporting position.

' passing through the tank cover with the generally horizontally extending l'eg disposed within the tank, means disposed outside the tank for lowering and raising the lifting elements together between a position in which the generally horizontally extending legs thereof are disposed above the liquid level in the tank and a position in which such legs are disposed below the liquid level'and near-the bottom of the tank and means for turning the lifting elements generally about the axes of the generally vertically extending legs thereof between positions in which the generally horizontally extending legs extend generally toward each other and positions in which such legs do not extend toward each other.

3. In material treating apparatus, a receptacle for containing material-treating fluid, a superstructure mounted atop the receptacle including generally vertically arranged guide means for guiding a carrying member for up and down movement relatively to the receptacle, a carrying member disposed in guided relationship to the guide means for up and down movement relatively to the receptacle, a lifting element carried by the carrying member, the lifting element having a material supporting portion, means for lowering and raising the carrying member between v a position in which the material supporting portion of the lifting element is disposed above the fluid level in the receptacle and a position in which the material supporting portion of the lifting element is disposed below the fluid level in the receptacle and means for shifting the lifting element to bring the material supporting portion thereof into material supporting position when the carrying member is in lowered position.

4. In material treating apparatus, a receptacle for containing material-treating fluid, a superstructure mounted atop the receptacle including opposed generally vertically arranged guides for guiding a carrying member for up and down movement relatively to the receptacle, a carrying member disposed between and in guided relationship to the opposed guides for up and down .movement relatively to the receptacle, a lifting element journalcd in the carrying member for turning movement relatively thereto about a generally vertical axis, the lifting element having a material supporting portion, means for lowering and raising the carrying member between a position in which the material supporting portion of the lifting element is disposed above the fluid level in the receptacle and a position in which the material supporting portion of the lifting element is disposed below the fluid level in the receptacle and means for turning the lifting element to bring the material supporting portion thereof into material supporting position when the carrying member is in lowered position.

DONALD A. NECARTHUR.

REFERENCES CITED The. following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 344,222 Thomas June 22, 1886 758,493 Abbey Apr. 26, 1904 1,165,017 OToole Dec. 21, 1915 1,412,979 Sundh Apr. 18, 1952 1,730,128 Drake Oct. 1, 1929 1,765,023 McWane June 17, 1930 1,956,231 Thomas Apr. 2'7, 1934 2,410,336 Carter Oct. 29, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 555,010 Germany July 16, 1932 

